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Khalid-073
Khalid Nassar, later designated SPARTAN-073, was a member of the original class. He was of mixed Syrian-Sudanese heritage and one of the few to be recruited from Humanity's homeworld of Earth. Khalid was one of the thirty Spartan Candidates that washed-out during the augmentation procedure. Biography Early Life Khalid was born on July 28th 2510 to Hashem and Salma Nassar, a surgeon and lawyer respectively. As such, Khalid was raised in considerable wealth and lived in an affluent district of Damascus, Syria on Earth. Compared with most other members of the SPARTAN-II Program, in his early life, Khalid wanted for nothing. His parents were both widely respected within their community, and were very close with the local Mosque's Imam. Such was his parents' relationship with the imam, Khalid was often privately tutored by him in the ways of his faith. This had a profound impact on Khalid, as he would go on to become a devout follower of Islam. His parents clout did not just reach to a private tutorship by his local imam, Khalid too was able to attend a prestigious and exclusive primary school. It was here that Khalid truly began to flourish; intellectually he was the best in his class by a considerable margin. His physical condition was also considerably larger than the rest of his classmates. During his time in primary school Khalid was able to develop into the precocious and compassionate child that would endear him to so many of his eventual Spartan peers. However, Khalid was not well liked by his classmates, with many envious of his privileged position - even among Damascus's elite. While never bullied outright, Khalid would often find himself excluded from group activities. During this time, he would reach out to his imam in search of how to mitigate the way he was being treated; the imam would explain that eventually the children would become his friend, he would just have to show himself willing to be humble. Through the teachings of his imam and his parents, Khalid soon became aware the exceptional circumstances he found himself in. Furthermore his parents would instill in him the importance of zakat; alms-giving. Both Hashem and Salma lead by example an donated more than the expect 2.5%. Though initially reluctant, Khalid would attempt to mimic this through a symbolical alms-giving gesture: he provided food for his classmates. This was to be a turning point for the young Khalid, and he would become friends with the majority of his classmates. These charitable acts became a point of immense pride for Khalid and he felt the need to one-up his classmates when they mentioned small acts of kindness of their own. The loving environment that surrounded him through his early formative years, instilled a sense of calm deep inside of him. Such was his attachment to his youth, that Khalid's memories of his parents and childhood shepherds would remain vividly with him during his time on Reach. Khalid's extraordinary genetic markers were identified by Dr. Halsey and her team during a blood exam taken after a routine vaccination. She quickly decided that Khalid's markers made him a potential candidate for her fledgling Spartan program and an appointment to examine him in person was scheduled. Shortly after, two Office of Naval Intelligence field agents, Derek Watson and Shaun Redmonds, arrived at Khalid's school. They followed the protocol established by Halsey and Keyes, and posed as parents touring the school for their child. Both Shaun and Derek were able to find Khalid and engage in a short conversation with him. As the conversation progressed, the ONI agents were impressed by his physical attributes, but in particular it his mental acuity and personality that stood out to them. In total, the pair were able to converse with the prospective Spartan for fifteen minutes before he had to return to class. In their report, they immediately made recommendations that Khalid be inducted into the Program. Halsey, initially, was not as easily impressed. She believed that his personality was not what the Program required and that Khalid was a risk to burn out during training. Eventually, due in part to the protestations of Shaun and Derek, and the poor quality of candidates towards the lower end of the class, Halsey relented and accepted Khalid. On the night of September 18th, 2517, Khalid was abducted by ONI and replaced with a flash-clone that would die by the end of the year. Upon arriving on Reach three days later, he was officially drafted into the SPARTAN-II Program per Naval Code 45812. The SPARTAN Program Early Days Teal Team Lost Soul Augmentations 's comments on Khalid's death in her journal.}} Personality Khalid's gregariousness and well held religious beliefs made him unique among his Spartan peers. He was sociable and made a concerted effort to develop and maintain friendships with everyone he could. His sociable nature was picked up by the Spartans trainers as a sign of a potentially fatal weakness. Indeed, there were several conversations held in the upper echelons of the program of Khalid's potential be a sympathiser. This led Mendez and the trainers to be especially tough in their treatment of Khalid, as they tried to weed out what they perceived to be undesirable personality traits in a Spartan. Khalid's warm demeanor took a significant beating during the several months he was treated this way. Eventually, through a personal conversation with Dr. Halsey in early 2518 it was established that the assertion of his potential disloyalty had been a false one. It became clear through the conversation that Khalid held a very firm belief that being chosen for the Spartan Program was a God given one; his belief in the UNSC and its mission was unshakable. After this conversation Mendez and his cohort began to relent their particularly harsh treatment of Khalid; once again allowing his personality to flourish. Among his peers Khalid's personality was seen as a necessary boon to the melancholic and fiercely competitive nature they found themselves in. Despite his welcoming personality, it did not provide him with a leadership disposition. The ability to make difficult decisions that naturally came into direct conflict with the wishes of those he commanded was not one Khalid ever gained. As a result, his natural ability to defuse tensions often led him to being the executive officer for the teams he was placed in. As John would eventually become the natural choice to fit into the role as the inspirational leader, Khalid, alongside Kurt, were viewed as the emotional heart of the tight group of trainees. The pair often became the calm breeze that cooled the fire raging inside the trainees. Such a role is, in of itself, isolating as others find it difficult to not see past the troubles they've shared. Through this isolation, both Khalid and Kurt became firm friends; becoming the crutch each of them required during the few moments it all became too much. Even though Khalid was well liked by the rest of his fellow Spartans, he would particularly bond with and both of whom eventually joining him in Teal Team. Khalid was not a competitive individual and this lack of personal ambition came to hamper Teal Team in a number of events, as he lacked the ruthless streak that was required to win the competitions devised by Halsey and Mendez. Eventually Khalid pushed himself to put his personal misgivings aside in an attempt to be the team member that was required of him: this he achieved with limited success. Khalid's death was a devastating blow to many of the surviving Spartans, and in the end, it was his unrelenting kindness and good will that would be remembered above all else. Category:Class I Spartan-IIs